全通翻譯/翻譯社

When East Meets West: Blending Leadership Styles

What makes a good leader? This is the conundrum that international companies have been struggling with ever since globalization became an economic reality in the late 20th century. Asian managers and their Western counterparts often have differing managerial styles, and the debate has raged for decades about which approach is best.

Ray Kroc, the legendary first chairman of the McDonald's Corporation, exemplifies the Western style of leadership. He bought a small restaurant business in 1954 and then created the “McDonald's Bible,” a book containing rules that all McDonald's restaurants must follow. It details how wide pickles and French fries should be, and how you will be greeted whenever you walk into a McDonald's establishment.

This reliance on proven success and established business models is what most clearly separates Asian and Western management styles. Terry Gou, the founder and chairman of HonHai Precision Industry Group, also known as Foxconn, follows the Asian approach to leadership. In the 1980s, Gou went to the United States, dropping in on prospective customers without an appointment and winning many additional contracts.

東西領導風格

什麼造就一位好的領導者？自全球化在廿世紀末成為經濟現況以來，這個難題就一直令國際企業深感苦惱。亞洲與西方的經理人常具有不同的管理風格，關於哪種做法最好的爭辯也已被廣為討論了數十年。

麥當勞公司傳奇性的首任董事長雷‧克洛克就是西方領導風格的典型例子。他於一九五四年買下一家小餐廳，然後編寫「麥當勞聖經」—— 這本書記載了所有麥當勞餐館都必須遵循的規定。其中詳細說明酸黃瓜與薯條的寬度應該是多少，以及顧客走進麥當勞的餐館時應被如何招呼。

仰賴驗證後的成功經驗與完善的商業模式是亞洲與西方管理風格最明顯的差異。別稱富士康的鴻海精密工業集團創辦人暨董事長郭台銘所採取的是亞洲領導模式。一九八○年代期間，郭台銘前往美國，在沒有事先安排的情況下突然造訪潛在顧客，結果贏得許多額外的合約。

資料來源：biz互動英語報